COVID-19 and the Plight of the American Movie Theater
Americans have been going to the movies for more than a century, but for the first time in recent history, theaters are closed, and even if they open in the foreseeable future -- the audience may be limited. With this in mind, many of our treasured movie theaters are [...]
The Case Study of Neiman Marcus and the Fate of Other Department Stores
While the notorious fashion icon, Neiman Marcus, may be the first among retailers to succumb to the economic impact of COVID-19, the virus was only the final straw in a long financial journey – a plight facing many retailers in the past 2-3 years. Background Many of our well-known [...]
Business Interruption: Do You Have the Correct Coverage?
Most people tend to be confused as to the type of event business interruption insurance covers. There actually is a distinction between business interruption and civil authority insurance. Generally business interruption insurance allows a business to recover certain losses in the event that the business suffers physical damage or [...]
Legal Issues Affecting Your Business Amid the Coronavirus Outbreak
With the coronavirus spreading across the world, Bill Siegel has compiled the following list of best practices companies can follow to maintain some semblance of operations and deal with potential legal issues. Issues with Lenders and Loan Documents Material Adverse Effect/Material Adverse Change Clauses: Some Material Adverse Effects or [...]
Revisiting the Need for Force Majeure Clauses
We are witnessing interesting times in these hectic days of the Coronavirus. We survived the terrorist attack of 9-11, hurricanes, earthquakes and the Ebola virus and we will get through this as well. Rarely do parties consider these unexpected events when negotiating contracts and yet, it is now more [...]
The Coronavirus and Its Effect on Companies on the Brink
What initially began as a health scare has ballooned into a broad-ranging concern, affecting economies around the world. Businesses that were teetering on the brink of survival may succumb to bankruptcy. Coronavirus and Bankruptcy There is a good article in Bloomberg on how the Coronavirus forced a diabetes medication [...]
Filing a Proof of Claim Reserving a Right to a Jury Trial Does Not Prevent a Waiver of Right to Jury Trial
Pursuant to the Supreme Court opinions in Granfinanciera, S.A. v. Nordberg, 492 U.S. 33 (1989) and Langenkamp v. Culp, 498 U.S. 42 (1990), the filing of a proof of claim in a bankruptcy proceeding gives rise to a waiver of one’s Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. In [...]
THE TREATMENT AND ENFORCEMENT OF ARBITRATION CLAUSES IN BANKRUPTCY CASES
Bankruptcy courts throughout the country are being presented with the question of whether to enforce arbitration agreements. In the past, bankruptcy courts have found that arbitration agreements are not enforceable when they concern matters considered to be within the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court. This may soon change as the [...]
Subsequent Transferee Liability re: Fraudulent Conveyance Lawsuits
The Bankruptcy Code and the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act allow a bankruptcy Trustee to recover property that was allegedly fraudulently transferred to an “initial transferee” who then transferred the same property to a “subsequent transferee.” This article discusses the liability of a subsequent transferee when the trial court has already [...]
A Debtor Licensor of a Trademark Cannot Rescind Use of the Trademark License by Rejecting it in Bankruptcy
Licensees of Trademarks can breathe a sigh of relief: A Debtor cannot use the Bankruptcy Code as a sword by rejecting a trademark license thereby preventing the licensee from using the trademark. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Mission Product Holdings Inc. v. Tempnology LLC, 17-1657 (Sup. Ct.), resolved a conflict [...]
